2013-14 Division II Menís Basketball Player of the Week Ė No. 8

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Brandon Cole of Bryan (Tenn.) has been named the NAIA National Division II Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday. Cole, who is the final honoree for the 2013-14 season, was selected based on his performances from Feb. 17 – 23 and was chosen out of a pool of conference and independent award winners.

Cole, a native of Crossville, Tenn., recorded three-straight double-doubles last week while playing 118-of-120 minutes in Bryan’s three games. The sophomore forward recorded career-highs in points (40) and rebounds (23) in the Lions’ 75-74 loss to Montreat (N.C.) on Feb. 17. On Feb. 19, Cole grabbed 15 boards and scored 36 points in Bryan’s 82-73 loss to Union (Ky.). In the Lions’ lone victory on the week, Feb. 22 over Truett-McConnell (Ga.), Cole scored 33 points to go along with 10 rebounds. His old-fashioned 3-point play with 3.3 seconds left in the game gave the Bryan the lead for good, 70-69. For the week, Cole shot .536 from the field (37-of-69), while averaging 36.3 points and 15 rebounds.

On the year, Cole has scored at least 20 points in 25-of-29 games and leads the Lions in points per game (26.10), rebounds per game (12.14) and steals (34). He leads the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.55) and total rebounds per game (12.14), while also ranking among the top 10 in total rebounds (2nd, 352), defensive rebounds per game (3rd, 7.59), total scoring (4th, 757) and points per game (6th, 26.10).